Kształtowanie polskiej regionalnej elity administracyjnej a wyzwania reintegracji Górnego Śląska w latach 1918-1939

Abstract

In 1922, Upper Silesia was reincorporated into Poland. This article aims to explore the challenges presented by the region’s reintegration into inter-war Poland after more than five hundred years of separation. Among the particular features of this integration was the granting of special rights in the form of administrative autonomy to Upper Silesia. In consequence, the regional administrative leaders, the voivodes, were granted extensive powers. The article presents a biographical analysis of the voivodes and an investigation of their policies, which is followed by an examination of the regional conflict between the incoming Polish elite and Silesian society. Finally, in relation to the long rule of Voivode Grażyński, particular attention is paid to his intensive policy of Polonization and authoritarian rule.